Chapter 28: Chapter 28

“Play a song!” Monica insisted, sitting on a bench set back from the fire. After dinner, everyone had played on the beach until the sun went down, and now the wedding party was roasting marshmallows. It was a warm evening, so the fire was low, and the benches were nowhere close enough for the sticks to reach, so anyone who wanted a treat had to stand and approach the flames. Bree was content to eat the sugary snacks without warming them first.

“Do you know ‘Unchained Melody’?” Monica asked as Bree considered whether or not to make an excuse as to why she didn’t want to play while Monica sang.

“I do,” she said. When she’d agreed to bring her guitar, she’d figured it would be for a sing along, not to listen to the bride-to-be serenade the rest of the group. But… it was her wedding, and Bree didn’t want to be contrary.

“Good, good! Play it, and I’ll sing it for Trent.”

Bree shifted her attention slightly to Trent for a moment before she stood to grab her instrument. He was sitting next to Monica, and she was draped all over him, as usual. He didn’t look like he wanted to be serenaded, but it was obvious he wasn’t going to protest either.

With her back to the crowd, Bree got her guitar out of its case and found a smile. By the time she got back to the bench, she was calmer. She didn’t look at Trent as she tuned her guitar and then started to play the intro to the song Monica had requested.

When she got to the part where Monica was supposed to come in, she gave a nod at the bride, and she started to sing.

It was awful.

Bree had to bite the inside of her cheek to keep from making a face. If someone would’ve handed Monica one of the buckets the children who’d been out with their families earlier playing in the sand had been using, she wouldn’t have been able to carry the tune. In order to keep herself together, Bree couldn’t look at Monica or anyone else, but she knew there were other people trying their best not to laugh.

As she got to the bridge, Bree happened to glance over at Trent. He had a huge smile on his face, and to anyone walking by, it would appear as if he was smiling at his beautiful bride as she sang to him. But Bree knew better. He was also trying not to laugh at her horrible singing.

She messed the words up going into the last chorus and looked at Bree like it was her fault. Bree waited for her to sort it out, and Monica got even more frustrated. She yelled, “Stay with me!” and then started that part over again. Bree jumped in, no longer thinking anything about the situation was funny as she tried not to shoot daggers out of her eyes at the bride. She saw Trent’s hand tighten around Monica’s leg, likely a sign to her that she needed to calm down, and Monica went into her big finale.

When she was done, everyone clapped, and someone, maybe Matt, yelled, “I’ll never forget that!”

A few people snickered, but Monica was too busy trying to find Trent’s tonsils to reply.

“Play one of your songs,” Trent’s aunt said to Bree, probably not wanting to see her nephew swallow his bride’s tongue.

“What would you like for me to play?” Bree asked, praying it wasn’t the song she was supposed to sing at the wedding.

“Play ‘Under the Moon,’” Lilly said.

“Okay.” Bree thought that was a fitting song, so she started to play. As she sang, she kept her eyes off of Trent and Monica. She wasn’t the only one avoiding them. Hank, who was on about his seventh or eighth beer, was sitting with his back to the fire now, across the way from Bree. She was worried about him, especially now that she knew what the problem was. Bree tried to lose herself in the song. It was easier than thinking about where she was or why.

When she finished, someone shouted for her to play “Top of the World” by The Carpenters so they could all sing along, and she gladly did so, noticing that Hank got up about halfway through and started wandering toward the ocean. She kept an eye on him, thinking she should go see if he was okay, but as long as the crowd wanted music, she was obliged to comply.

She just hoped the request list would run out before Hank ran out of patience and ended up doing something stupid.

It took a while for Bree to break free of playing the guitar. When Dwayne asked if he could play something, she gladly handed the instrument over. It seemed to her that he likely wanted her to sit next to him and sing along, but she made an excuse about stretching her legs and headed out after Hank.

She found him sitting by the cluster of rocks he’d found her at a few times already that week. He had a beer in his hand--and he was crying.

With a deep breath, she sat down next to him, not sure what to say. Almost immediately, he plopped his head down on her shoulder, and Bree put her arm around him, not sure why he was so upset about Monica, but it wasn’t her place to judge him, only to be his friend.

“I don’t know what to do….” he whispered between sobs. “God, I love her so much.”

“I know, honey. I’m so sorry.”

He looked up for a second and said, “How did you figure it out?”

“I didn’t. You told me-- a few years ago. I just forgot.”

“Right.” He was sobbing again, and Bree rocked him gently, wishing she could come up with something to make him feel better. “I thought… maybe you could help Trent see the light.”

“Why don’t you tell him how you feel?”

“Are you shitting me?” Hank asked, sitting up straight. “If he found out what we’ve been doing…he’d kill me. Trent’s my best friend, man. I never should’ve done what I did. But now that I have…. I don’t know how I’m gonna stop. I love her so much.”

“Wait… so you slept with Monica?”

Hank nodded his head against her shoulder.

“Since… she’s been dating Trent?”

Again, that was a confirmation. Bree could hardly believe it. She didn’t think Hank was the sort of guy who would do that to his best friend, but it seemed like she’d gotten him wrong, too.

“I got all these pictures of her…. I can’t stop looking at them.” He pulled his phone out of his pocket and flashed it in her direction.

Bree didn’t see everything, but she saw enough. Hank had photographic proof that Monica was cheating on Trent.

With a deep breath, Bree went into action, not stopping to think about what she was doing. Hank had dropped his phone in the sand, so she picked it up before it had a chance to turn off. He was lost in his tears. She quickly went to his photos and selected all of the ones of him and Monica, as well as a couple of videos, then, she airdropped them to her own phone before Hank knew what was happening.

“It’ll be okay, Hank,” she said, still rocking him.

Hank made an awful noise, and Bree realized he was about to be sick. She loved him, but not enough to stick around for that. She skirted out of the way, and he got up and ran out to sea, spilling his guts in the waves.

“Hank, are you all right?” Trent was headed toward him, obviously concerned.

“Clearly not,” Bree replied as Trent reached their mutual friend and rested his hand on his back. The puking was done now, but Hank wasn’t doing well.

“What’s the matter with him? I mean, besides the booze?”

“I don’t know,” Bree replied, but Trent would see right through that.

“I’ll get Matt or someone to help me get him home. Thanks, Bree.”

She nodded and watched Trent help Hank back to the resort. He had no idea his best friend had stabbed him in the back. Bree wanted to tell him for more reasons than she could count. But how could she betray Hank like that?

Caught in an uncomfortable situation, Bree debated what to do. Deciding it would be nothing that night, she headed back up the beach to get her guitar and head back to her room. The only reason she’d come was because Hank had asked her to, and he was gone now, so she may as well go, too. Monica could sing for the rest of them if they wanted music. Bree was done.